Bangkok: Chonlanan is confident that Pheu Thai will submit its draft amendment to Chapter 15/1 of the Constitution by next week, adhering to the Constitutional Court's ruling as a precedent. He emphasized that the indirect selection of Constituent Assembly members will be 140-150 members from all provinces and representatives of various organizations.
According to Thai News Agency, Dr. Cholanat Srikaew, a Pheu Thai Party MP for Nan, commented on the progress of the draft constitutional amendment, stating that progress has been made after three meetings. The working group met to review the draft and assigned the secretariat to make adjustments, as the Pheu Thai Party's draft is already complete. However, there are some objections that need to be addressed. The party will adhere to the Constitutional Court's ruling to avoid any problems. Regarding constitutional amendments, the focus will be solely on drafting the new constitution, adding Section 15/1 under Article 256 of the Constitution. The term "Constitutional Drafting Assembly" (CDA) will be used because it is a term that must appear in the constitution. To avoid conflicting with the constitutional ruling, indirect selection will be used. Currently, the number of members is set at 140-150, as there are still various organizations missing. The source of the members is divided into two parts: public parti cipation, chosen from each province for preliminary selection, and representatives from various organizations appointed by the council. Once both parts are received, the parliament will appoint.
As for whether the Pheu Thai Party's draft will be completed by next week, Dr. Cholanat stated that he is confident, given the timing and the tightest timeline, that the first reading should be no later than October 29th, as the House of Representatives will adjourn on October 31st and reopen on December 12th. From early October until October 30th, there is an opportunity to propose and consider the draft even before then, including accepting the principle and setting up a committee to consider the draft. He emphasized that he is confident that the timeline will definitely be completed in time, and that the third reading should be no later than January 15th, 2026, based on the government's policy statement to parliament, which is expected to be September 29th or 30th, and counting the time for the dissolution of parliament, leaving 15 days for the referendum.